THE GULAG ‘KNIGHT’ OF MORDOVSKA (ADDENDUM)
A wonderful essay authored by Alan Power, master of artistic chess set restoration and owner of the Chess Schach. Please click the link to read Alan’s highly informative article.
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Urban Legend and the Not Very “Latvian” Set
We often see a particular style of Soviet set described as “Latvian” and as “Tal’s favorite.” Although neither claim is supported by the current state of research, both contribute to ongoing misunderstanding of the set’s origin and significance. According to Merriam-Webster.com, an Urban Legend is an often lurid story or anecdote that is based on hearsay and widely circulated as true. While there no doubt lurid details about the life and…
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Tsarist Staunton Chessmen
We know that “Staunton” chessmen were sold in Tsarist Russia in the second half of the 19th Century. Here, for example, is an ad from Mikhail Tchigorin’s chess journal, Shakhmatniy Vestik, in 1885, for “Turner Teich,” with a St. Petersburg street address. The first item listed is Staunton-style chessmen. Unfortunately, the ad contains no photos or sketches of the pieces, so we are left to wonder what they looked like.…
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Soviet and Late Tsarist Chess Sets 